1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for supporting a load on a car roof, such as a roof rack for automobiles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Roof racks are conventionally used for attaching articles, such as skis, bicycles or luggage on the roof of a car. For loading, the articles must be lifted to the height of the roof of the car. Since this can be difficult, especially for heavy articles, roof racks comprising auxiliary lifting mechanisms have been described e.g. in the German patent application DE 42 29 762, the European patent application EP 568 855, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,387 and the British patent application 2 073 686. These solutions have in common that they require a large number of movable parts, which makes the racks difficult to construct and unreliable in operation.
The Australian patent AU 28 962/67 and the French patent 986 618 teach a simpler design for roof racks, which is, however, not well suited for lifting heavy, high loads.